land fever in georgia after the revolutionary war, ga gained access to the land of those who sided...
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LAND FEVER IN GEORGIA
A
fter the Revolutionary War, GA gained access to the land of those
who sided with the British.
W
ar veterans and political leaders believed that all citizens had the
right to land ownership.
W
hat was the best way to allocate the land to the people of the
state?
LAND LOTTERIES: WHAT WAS IT?
8
land lotteries – Citizens could purchase
a ticket and enter for a chance to win
land in Georgia.
WHO WAS ABLE TO GAIN LAND?
A
ny average Georgian was able to gain a large amount of land.
T
hey would submit their name to the state and pay for a ticket.
T
hey could have their name submitted more times based on
their age, marital status, and war service.
HOW MUCH LAND WAS GIVEN?
T
hese lotteries gave 3 quarters of
Georgia’s land to 100,000 different
families.
LOUISVILLE
W
hat is it? – The 3rd capital of Georgia. It was located in the
center of Georgia’s population, which had moved further
west.
W
hy did they think it would be a successful capital? –
Georgia wanted the new capital to serve as a trading
epicenter because of its location on the Ogeechee River.
LOUISVILLE: WHY WASN’T IT SUCCESSFUL?
M
alaria outbreak.
T
rouble navigating the Ogeechee River as a trading
post.
P
eople were moving further northwest.
THE HEADRIGHT SYSTEM: WHAT WAS IT?
W
hite males counted as a “head” of the
family and had the right to receive up
to 1,000 acres.
WHO WAS ABLE TO GAIN LAND?
W
hite males, 21+ years old were able to gain up to 200
acres of land.
M
en who had families or slaves could receive even more.
T
hey also gave land to men who fought in the
Revolutionary War (ex: Austin Dabney).
YAZOO ACT/LAND FRAUD
W
hat was it?• 4 land companies bribed members
of the General Assembly to pass a bill where land would be sold to the land companies for $500,000.
WHY DID PEOPLE PROTEST?
T
he public found out and protests broke out all over
the state.
T
hey were angered the land was being sold.
C
itizens wanted the legislators to resign.
RESULTS OF YAZOO LAND FRAUD
S
ince the public was so angered by the Yazoo Act,
they voted the legislators out of office.
T
he new legislators who were voted into office
repealed the law and burned all records of the
sale.
RESULTS OF YAZOO LAND FRAUD
M
any people had bought land from the land companies and wanted
to keep their land.
G
eorgia basically “gave” the land to the US government for $1.25
million.
G
eorgia paid $4 million to the land buyers that were victims of the
fraud.